Innovation + Job News

Put that paperwork down. Greenphire is fundamentally changing the entire clinical research industry. The King of Prussia based company has two products, ClinCard and eClinical GPS, designed to streamline clinical research studies. The technology is working, and it's well received, having just closed a round of Series A funding led by FirstMark Capital, on the heels of Ben Franklin Technology Partners funding last year.

Greenphire's COO John Samar reports that this year, the company will achieve 300 percent revenue growth over last year, currently serving 200 customers including big name pharma, biotech and medical device companies. Just four years ago Greenphire consisted of Samar and co-founder/CEO Sam Whitaker, and with the cash influx, the company is hiring. Samar estimates that the current staff of 16 will double by spring of 2012. Currently, there are three openings: VP Program Management, Program Manager and Office Manager/Client Support/Bookkeeper.

ClinCard, says Samar, is Greenphire's debit card based product that handles payments for participation in clinical research trials, adding email and SMS functionality to keep patients engaged in studies. Participants receive tailored messaging and appointment reminders.

"There are a lot of value adds that result from the way we package," says Samar. "Sponsors get cleaner, more robust data, and patients are happier. The whole clinical research industry is realizing that it needs to be more patient centered." Increased compliance on both sides of the equation, from patients to paperwork, sets ClinCard in its own class, and it's not hard to see how Greenphire's technology could be applied to a much wider healthcare market.

But Samar says right now Greenphire is sticking to its expertise in the clinical research sector, and this year launched its second product, eClinical-GPS (Global Payment System) to address payments involved in the execution of the study. So, for example, if a clinician draws blood, reimbursement -- which previously took 6 to 8 months -- now arrives within three days.

The high growth private company is partnering with Mytrus for Pfizer's virtual clinical trial program that allows participants to remain at home, using electronic communication tools to recruit, retain and administer studies.

Source: John Samar, Greenphire
Writer: Sue Spolan

Adel Ebeid almost thought he was undergoing a form of frat-boy initiation, when during his first week on the job as the City of Philadelphia’s first Chief Innovation Officer, the region was rocked by an earthquake and then Hurricane Irene. As it turned out, the naturally occurring forces served to uncover details about the city’s technology.

“It was an excellent exercise in immediately getting to know who’s who and understand how, in a state of crisis, the city communicates and the flow of vital information,” says Ebeid, 47. “I couldn’t have asked for a better Philly 101.”

Ebeid, who previously served as head of IT for the State of New Jersey since 2006, was hired in mid-August thanks in part to a heavy courtship from Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter. On Aug. 22, Nutter signed an executive order establishing the Office of Innovation and Technology, which replaces the former Division of Technology headed by Allen Franks.

Ebeid says the goal is to rebrand the office (and IT culture) as an enabler and catalyst for helping city agencies improve their operations so they're better able to provide services to city residents and businesses. That's part of Nutter's vision that motivated Ebeid to come to Philly.

“We are ambassadors for how to take IT to the next level,” says the Egyptian native, who moved to the U.S. when he was 10 years old. “Sometimes you gain power by giving up power.”

For an innovation agenda to thrive, Ebeid says the city needs to understand obstacles to internet and broadband penetration. Ebeid says the latest figures he has seen reveal a whopping 41 percent of the city does not have internet access.

"That's quite high for the fifth-largest urban city in the country,” says Ebeid. "I can't figure if it’s an adoption, access or affordability issue, or a combination of all three."

Fortunately, there are already initiatives in place to help narrow the city's digital divide.

Just last week, Nutter was on hand during a press event introducing Internet Essentials, an ambitious, Comcast-led program for comprehensive broadband adoption that will provide families in Philadelphia with children who are eligible for free school lunches with low-cost Internet service, affordable computers and digital literacy training.

Ebeid is also excited about the city’s Freedom Rings partnership that brings together grassroots organizations, government and universities to establish 77 public computer centers, provide hands-on training to 15,000 residents, distribute 5,000 computers to public housing residents and generate 5,000 new broadband household subscribers and 50 small-business subscribers.

"Andrew Buss from my staff has done an excellent job managing this project and I plan to do everything i can to support him and his staff bring the project to a successful completion," he says.

Last Wednesday it was announced that Philadelphia was again selected as a partner for next year’s Code For America program, which unleashes the power of talented developers, designers and product managers on a city for a year to help create more open, participatory and efficient city government.

Ebeid says that in order for already underway projects, like PhillyStat or 311, to advance to the next level, the city’s IT infrastructure needs to be stabilized and secured. Last week, as reported in Technically Philly, Ebeid called for a 30-45 day moratorium on any new technologies within the city’s IT framework to "allow time to establish the appropriate management processes so that the City’s IT infrastructure can grow in a structured fashion but, more importantly, build the staffing capacity needed to sustain it for the long term."

Says Ebeid: "Very little can be achieved unless we have a stable infrastructure foundation in place. I didn’t count on that being my first priority but it now has my complete undivided attention until my staff can regain their confidence."

Source: Adel Ebeid, City of Philadelphia Office of Innovation and Technology
Writer: Joe Petrucci

Because of its size, location and breadth of activity, it's hard to believe that the Kimmel Center has only been part of Philadelphia's arts and culture landscape for 10 years.

Beyond all the first-class performers and performances featured at the Kimmel, one of its best-kept secrets is its Education Program, which has grown steadily through the last several years. It now serves more than 7,000 local youth of all skill levels and socioeconomic backgrounds, according to the Kimmel's Director of Education Julia Lopez.

"There's so much more we can do," says Lopez.

The Kimmel is hiring a Community Engagement Manager to help grow its Education Program. The successful candidate ill be critical to the development of community engagement strategies to support long-term relationships with a "diverse intersection of Philadelphia-area communities."

Part of that includes aligning the Education Program with select performances at the Kimmel. Experience in community organizing and cross-cultural competency is key.

Send cover letters and resumes to the Kimmel, 260 S. Broad St., Philadelphia, PA 19102, or email [email protected].

Source: Julia Lopez, Kimmel Center
Writer: Joe Petrucci

Is your company or organization hiring? Let us know here and maybe we'll write about it.

Giant koi swimming up 13th Street? Believe it. The Favela Painters are coming to Philadelphia. In mid-September, Jeroen Koolhaas and Dre Urhahn, better known as the team Haas&Hahn, arrive here for a major public art project that spans three Philadelphia neighborhoods, trains countless new artists and brings a bit of Brazil to the city.

Favela is the term used for the slums of Rio de Janiero, lawless places ruled by criminal syndicates. Over the past five years, Haas&Hahn have transformed the walls and streets of these mountainside neighborhoods that loom over downtown Rio. Outrageous color and imagery, visible from all parts of the city, have transformed trash strewn chaotic areas into internationally renowned public art galleries.

Now the Favela Painters are set to transform Philadelphia, and the location of their work will be in some pretty high profile places: the 13th Street corridor owned by Goldman Properties in Center City; in North Philadelphia at Lehigh and Germantown Avenues, near The Village of Arts and Humanities (where Haas&Hahn will reside during the project); and in Manayunk, on old industrial buildings facing Interstate 76.

Funding, which is budgeted at just under $500,000 for the three-part project, comes from The Knight Foundation, The U.S. Department of Commerce, Goldman Properties and The Manayunk Development Corporation.

The teams that will work on the project will be trained by the Haas&Hahn guild. "People who don't have a lot of opportunities will be able to work with international artists," says Golden, who describes the artists' philosophy as a model for passing knowledge on. "What's the test of a good project? The shifting perspectives of people who made the art and people who live with it."

This will be the first permanent U.S. project for Haas&Hahn, who also created an installation for Art Basel Miami in 2010. Jane Golden, Executive Director of the Mural Arts Program in Philadelphia, met the Favela painters through hip hop art consultant Todd Bressi, who brought Haas&Hahn to Miami. Bressi is a lecturer at The University of Pennsylvania and also worked on the Philadelphia Airport Gateway Project.

Golden says Haas&Hahn are on MAP's dream list of artists. "We're philosophically aligned. They're colorists with a background in architecture," says Golden. Kickoff is September 27 with a welcome reception. The entire project is set to last 18 months, including training and pop-up studios throughout the city. At its conclusion, a major exhibition is planned, which will also span Philadelphia and is slated for late 2013 to early 2014.

Source: Jane Golden, Philadelphia Mural Arts Program
Writer: Sue Spolan

It's a super awesome Startup Weekend 2.0. Tickets are almost sold out for the Oct. 14 event. On the heels of the first wildly successful Startup Weekend held in January, 2011, the second gathering has a new venue, better food and more caffeine, according to organizer Brad Oyler.

"We sold 95 tickets in two weeks," he says. "The business development tickets are already sold out. We  want to balance it out with developers and designers."

This time, Startup Weekend moves west and will be held at Drexel University's Earle Mack School of Law, in a brand new building with a big auditorium and the use of a dozen classrooms, says Oyler, who helped create the first weekend at University of the Arts, which drew national attention for winner Jameson Detweiler and his team's Launchrock.

"This time around, there's a lot more hype," says Oyler. "People have taken notice, and we've got all the biggest venture capital firms supporting Startup Weekend and getting involved."

The biggest change in programming, according to Oyler, is a new collaboration with the newly launched Skillshare, resulting in classes throughout the weekend instead of just speakers all day. Also, the Drexel Law venue provides several private rooms for top secret entrepreneurial exchanges.

Otherwise, says Oyler, the program will follow a similar curriculum to the previous weekend. Friday night pitches will start earlier. Saturday and part of Sunday will be devoted to building in teams comprised of designers, developers and entrepreneurs. The weekend ends with demos, judging, and awarding of prizes, which include 4 to 5 Dell Boomi tablets and computers, plus legal services from Morgan Lewis to each of the top three winning teams.

As far as judges, the well-rounded list keeps getting bigger, says Oyler, and currently includes Gil Beyda, Managing Partner at Genacast Ventures, Basecamp Business founder Mel Baiada, Morgan Lewis attorney Stephen Goodman, Boomi CEO Bob Moul, Tracey Welson-Rossman from Chariot Solutions, and Ellen Weber, executive director of Robin Hood Ventures.

While attendance is currently capped at 120, Oyler says that's a conservative figure and may open up in the coming weeks. Currently, a few limited ticket types are still available and range in price from $40 to $75.

Source: Brad Oyler, Startup Weekend Philadelphia
Writer: Sue Spolan

The Philadelphia Mural Arts Program is once again reinventing itself, this time through its special muraLAB initiative and with Breadboard, the hybrid program out of the University City Science Center that explores intersections between contemporary art, design, science and technology.

The partnership has formed a joint artist residency and exhibition opportunity that explores the intersection of muralism and technology. Last week the groups announced a request for proposals to established and emerging artists--or interdisciplinary teams of two--with priority given to those having a strong Philadelphia connection. Four selected artists or artist teams will be given access to NextFab Studio's high tech fabrication equipment and staff from November through March, 2012 to produce public art project concepts and models ad prototypes for exhibition in April and May at Breadboard's Esther Klein Gallery. Projects will also be considered for full-scale public art projects produce by Mural Arts in 2013.

Artists and teams will earn a stipend of $2,000 and a $500 credit toward workshop and machine time fees and staff consultations. Deadline for submissions is 4 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 3.

There are two upcoming open houses at NextFab for interested artists--not mandatory but definitely encouraged--on Wednesday, Aug. 31 (5-7:30 p.m.) and Saturday, Sept. 10 (1-3:30 p.m.). RSVP here.

Source: David Clayton, Breadboard
Writer: Joe Petrucci

There is no shortage of groups and events geared toward Philadelphia's still-fertile startup community. One new group, which is still figuring out how it fits in, is sure of one thing: its members will be active participants.

Startup Therapy, founded by Jeff Deville and supported by a group of six to 10 active participants, has met for lunch on three recent Fridays. Deville is working on a pair of soon-to-launch ventures: WishGenies is a platform that uses social media to deliver gift ideas for your family and friends and MixMeUp is an app that helps you choose an appropriate cocktail. Earlier this month he made his first visit to Independents Hall, the Old City-based co-working space that turns four years old on Thursday and is home to many of the city's most active and influential entrepreneurial types, and his subsequent blog post imploring Philly startups to unite became the initial framework for Startup Therapy.

Through three sessions, the group has worked to develop its tone and structure while aiming to establish an exclusivity not yet present in the local startup community, which appears to be its niche.

"There are a lot of groups in the area that let anyone in who has an interest," says Brian Glick via email. He's an active founding member of the group and president of logistics software startup Aspect 9, which has developed a customizable supply chain platform for businesses of all sizes. "The problem is, having an interest is not the same as doing something about it. The groups become too big to deliver focused value for their members.

"We think that with a smaller group of engaged people who you know and trust, opportunities for sharing and leveraging each other's resources are much more plausible."

Glick added he sees the group as "open source in the real world." Other early discussions centered around the need for higher level, focused learning sessions (something deeper than Marketing 101).

If you want in and are willing to be a fully engaged member, the group meets at Indy Hall (20 N. 3rd St., Suite 201) every Friday just before noon and leaves for its lunch session promptly at the top of the hour.

Source: Brian Glick, Aspect 9
Writer: Joe Petrucci

Massive construction projects need a specialized kind of management to avoid pitfalls, and that's where Talson Solutions steps in. "For most of our clients, construction is not their business. When we work for a hospital, health care is their business, not building a new hospital." Ditto other massive undertakings like Citizens Bank Park, the Comcast building and the Panama Canal, just a few of Philadelphia based Talson Solutions' clients.

Robert Bright, President of Talson, sees these multimillion dollar efforts as jigsaw puzzles. With nearly 20 years experience in construction litigation and management prior to founding Talson, Bright found an opportunity to build a business overseeing projects at risk. Talson has grown 371 percent in the past five years, according to Bright, and doubled its staff, now employing 12 people at its Old City headquarters.

Leading up to Talson, Bright spent seven years as an expert witness in construction litigation for Price Waterhouse and a dozen years working for Exxon, building large capital projects around the world. "Exxon does it well. They might spend 15 to 20 billion dollars on a capital project. I enjoy that. One might say I have an owner's perspective. It's a different mentality than a contractor. With these types of construction projects, there's a way of doing it right, to identify and anticipate risk." Bright says his strength is letting people know where concerns may lie, whether it is in the design, the quality of materials, or leadership. "We identify the missing pieces, support that effort, and drill down from there."

Talson's largest project right now is auditing the $7 billion expansion of the Panama Canal, but Bright stresses that every project, no matter what the cost, represents risk. Because of Talson's involvement in the Canal project, Bright is likely going to open a satellite office in Panama, and is also considering expansion to New York as well.

Talson just celebrated its 10th anniversary this June. Bright reflects on the past decade, during which his two children, for whom the company is named, grew proud of their father's legacy. Bright's daughter, Taylor, is a rising star in her own right, a promising singer/songwriter who recently toured the US as the star of the musical Annie.

Source: Robert Bright, Talson Solutions
Writer: Sue Spolan

Fashion is freckled. Sage, that is. In a few quiet years, a Philadelphia company called Freckled Sage has grown into an international exporter of colorful handbags, aprons and table coverings made of oilcloth.

"It appeals to a wide audience," says Anna Marino, who founded and operates the company from a studio in a Kensington warehouse. "Thirteen year-olds love the bright colors. Twenty somethings think it's retro, and baby boomers get nostalgic."

Oilcloth is a traditionally heavy cotton or linen cloth with a semi-waterproof, linseed oil coating, often used for brightly printed kitchen tablecloths. All of Marino's products are made in Philadelphia. She also keeps an office in her Wynnewood home, where the business got started, but she spends the bulk of her time at the studio, and is now seeking a larger space where she can combine the two.

Marino also started the spinoff company Oilcloth By The Yard to sell bolts of the shiny fabric and says she is now the largest supplier of oilcloth in the country. "There's not too many people that manufacture oilcloth products. I went directly to the source and lucked out. The company was looking for someone to represent them."

Marino funded the startup entirely from her own savings, and says her success is due to reinvestment of profit right back into the business. While Freckled Sage products are not known here in the Delaware Valley, Marino ships worldwide, and reports that her biggest exports are to Japan and Switzerland. She estimates she exported between 5,000-8,000 yards of fabric in her latest shipment to Japan alone.

Marino travels throughout the year to trade shows in Texas, California, Nevada and New York. She buys the fabric from a manufacturer in Mexico that's been making the same patterns since 1952, giving them that mid-century look.

Her first products sold to friends and neighbors at the Jersey shore "and it never stopped. It snowballed into something," says Marino, who kept up with demand by creating over two dozen items, many of which are for sale to consumers on Etsy.

She still sells her products at the Ocean City Farmers Market every Wednesday. You can purchase Freckled Sage locally at the newly opened Lodge 215 in Northern Liberties, as well as Kitchenette in Center City.

Source: Anna Martino
Writer: Sue Spolan

The thing that surprised Eric Smith the most about the first annual Philadelphia Geek Awards wasn't the guy who accepted his honor in a fox head costume. It wasn't the sold out crowd of over 400 who packed the Academy of Natural Sciences auditorium last Friday night. It was the negative feedback from folks who were upset by who was left out. "It shows that people were invested and care about what we're doing," Smith reflected after a good night's sleep. "It was supposed to be something mostly for fun, but it got a lot more serious." In the two weeks leading up to the Awards, Smith says press coverage blew up, and tickets disappeared.

The Geek Awards, the brainchild of Smith, Tim Quirino and Michelangelo Ilagan, who make up the staff of Geekadelphia ("A Guide to Everything Geek in the City of Brotherly Love"), were by all measures a total success. Sponsored by a host of local organizations including The Academy of Natural Sciences, who provided the venue free of charge, along with Drink Philly and National Mechanics who donated food and beverages, the event celebrated dozens of the city's technological finest, with just under twenty categories, from Best New Blog (a tie between DrinkPhilly and Naked Philly; the latter wore the fox head) to Outstanding Achievement in Fashion & Lifestyle, which is not the first attribute that comes to mind in the geek world, but Philly happens to have some very hip and good looking techies. Cadence Wrist Watch Company, home of the 4-bit, 4:20 and Wrist Rocket models, won that title.

"It was always something Tim and I wanted to do," says Smith of the awards. "We have all these great awards in Philly, but nothing for geeks." Let's just say that PriceWaterhouseCoopers did not oversee the process. Smith and cohorts at Geekadelphia designed the ceremony and chose categories, nominees and winners (with a little help from friends like Alex Hillman of Indy Hall). Next year the Geek Awards will be even more inclusive and probably a lot more serious, with spots for scientists, web developers and programmers.

Following his moment in the spotlight and cheering crowds, Smith returns to his day job at the Philadelphia based Quirk Books, which turns out bestsellers including Pride and Prejudice and Zombies and Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children, as well as the aptly titled Geeky Dreamboats.

Source: Eric Smith, Philadelphia Geek Awards
Writer: Sue Spolan

Sensual marketing. Two words you probably haven't heard together, unless you've been speaking to Eligio Sgaramella, the president, CEO and founder of Iperdesign. The interactive agency has just moved to Philadelphia, and maintains offices in Rome, Italy.

While Iperdesign has always had a U.S. presence, first in New York and then in South Jersey, the move to 16th and Spruce is a big one and a signal that the company continues to grow. "A lot of our clients are in the Philadelphia area. There's more opportunity in terms of networking and exposure," says Sgaramella.

Taking up residence in a former ad agency office, in fact the home of the first minority owned agency in the country, Iperdesign (pronounced "EE-per-design") defines itself as a branding web and mobile agency, divided into brand communications, identity and interaction. Originally bringing about $60,000 in billing, Iperdesign has grown into a company with a half million dollars in annual gross, with seven employees in Philadelphia and the same number in the Rome office.

Iperdesign believes in sense-appeal branding, engaging all five senses in the sales experience. For example, Iperdesign filled a spa with the scent of Sorrento lemons. "As soon as you enter the spa, you smell that, and it's very nice," says Sgaramella. "People remember that experience."

The fastest growing area of Iperdesign's business continues to be mobile apps, and it's what kept the agency profitable during the past few years while other big firms were shrinking. One of Iperdesign's biggest clients is Dale Carnegie Training. Just a month after the iPhone came out, Iperdesign developed the company's first mobile app. Hard to believe now, but eight years ago, says Sgaramella, it was a risky thing to do. "They were going through a period of rejuvenating their brand, so we suggested translating their content to a digital product." Two weeks after launch, the Carnegie mobile app held the number one position in the business category, and brought more clients to the agency.

Iperdesign also counts International House Philadelphia as well as Ernst & Young as clients, among a dozen others. Sgaramella credits the distinctive European look and design of his firm's products, which are treated to "across the pond brainstorming."

Source: Eligio Sgaramella, Iperdesign
Writer: Sue Spolan

The appreciation of coffee has risen to an art form, following the path of fine wine and craft beer. And while the city is dotted with culinary coffee establishments, most are serving products shipped in from distant locations. A new company, inspired by single origin roasters like Stumptown and CounterCulture, brings craft roasting to Philadelphia. ReAnimator Coffee was founded in April by Drexel University grads Mark Corpus and Mark Capriotti.

Corpus says that while coffee has been his stimulant of choice for years, visits to New York's Cafe Grumpy and 9th Street Espresso changed his opinion about how a cup of joe should taste. "These were coffees that were not only roasted to perfection, but were selected purposefully. At the time, there weren't many places in Philadelphia doing this type of coffee so I began looking into home roasting," says Corpus. "It was an interesting hobby that appealed to my nerdy tendencies and produced super fresh and delicious coffee with relative ease."

It was only through conversations with partner Capriotti that Corpus looked at his hobby with an eye toward a business. Using personal savings, the java-jolted duo took on the purchase of a roaster, which can run upwards of $8,000 for a starter model, and purchased  inventory. Coffee bean prices are now at an all time high, according to Corpus.

Both partners are still working day jobs, but have been pleasantly surprised by growth in sales during a hot summer. It's no surprise to anyone who tastes ReAnimator, which goes down easy, lacking the acidity and charred taste of the big name brands. "When you roast a coffee until it's burnt, all of the oils that hold all of those interesting aromas and flavors are lost. You see them on the outside of a greasy burnt bean where they do not provide any additional flavor to the brew," says Corpus. "When you take the time to figure out what roast level makes the coffee flavor best, you get the full potential of a bean."

ReAnimator has relied almost entirely on social media marketing using Facebook and Twitter, and they can almost always be found on Saturdays at Greensgrow Farmer's Market, just blocks from ReAnimator world headquarters in Fishtown. In addition to online sales, Quince Fine Foods and Green Aisle Grocery both stock the local roast, and Circles restaurant sells it by the cup.

As far as the name? "We wanted something that sounded different, not so burlap baggy wholesome. I had been reading HP Lovecraft's ReAnimator and it struck me as a great, unique term, and in my own experience reanimation and coffee go hand in hand," says Corpus, whose name, fittingly, translates as "body" from Latin.

Source: Mark Corpus, ReAnimator Coffee
Writer: Sue Spolan

There's a whole lot of hiring going on in Zone 7. Lest you think you've slipped into a science fiction world, Fresh From Zone 7 is the name of a fast growing company that's, well, all about growing. Founded in 2008 by Mikey Azzara, the Cranbury, N.J.-based farm-to-table distributor serving Pennsylvania and New Jersey has doubled in sales every year.

Right now, there are five job openings for energetic people who are committed to providing local food to local eaters: sales, warehouse crew, warehouse crew leader, drivers (multiple) and a sales team intern. While the positions are primarily part time, the right candidate could combine several to create a full time gig. Currently there are 9 people on staff, and the new hires would represent about a fifty percent increase. The company began with just two employees in 2008.

Azzara reports that each week of the 2011 season, Zone 7 has been adding deliveries at an almost explosive rate and at this point is maxed out in terms of staffing.

"On Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, all three of our trucks are out," says Azzara of the fleet that picks up from all over New Jersey and Pennsylvania, delivering to over 80 establishments, including The Farm and Fisherman, Southwark, Garces Trading Company, Weaver's Way, Greensgrow and the Fair Food Farmstand in Philadelphia. The New Jersey territory stretches from Atlantic City to West New York, NJ.

The 40 farms that supply Zone 7 include Blooming Glen, Jah's Creation Organic, Griggstown Farm Market, and Branch Creek, where the original seed for Zone 7 was planted.

Azzara had been working for the Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Jersey for five years when he sat down at the table of Mark and Judy Dornstreich, pioneers of the local food movement and founders of Branch Creek Farm, which has been growing and delivering organic produce to Philadelphia restaurants since the 1970s. "They supplied me with the truck, the name and the idea," says Azzara.

Zone 7, named for the USDA Hardiness Zone in which we live, is a 52-week-a-year operation, says Azzara, and its busiest months, surprisingly, are November and December. "Our time to catch our breath is January, February and March." Starting in April, asparagus and swiss chard are the first crops to harvest.

Source: Mikey Azzara, Zone 7
Writer: Sue Spolan

The Laurence A. Baiada Center for Entrepreneurship at Drexel University's LeBow College of Business is about to expand, taking up residence in the soon to be constructed LeBow building at 32nd and Market Streets. Currently tucked away in a former industrial space at 32nd and Arch, the Baiada Center has been physically separate from LeBow, but that's all about to change. The business school's former home, the Mathieson Building, is now in the process of being demolished to make way for a 12 story state of the art structure. The new Baiada Center will have a light-flooded open floor plan, and will add a behavioral lab where entrepreneurs can conduct focus group tests.

A division of LeBow, Baiada has long offered full support for entrepreneurs, from office and conference space to mentoring, training and promotion. "A lot of what we do is built around the presumption that most entrepreneurs know their space, and need help building and selling their companies,' says Mark Loschiavo, Executive Director and Senior Executive in Residence. Startups, which range in specialty from transportation to medical devices, also receive a small amount of seed capital.

The current space is currently home to ten companies, notably CityRyde, which just received $345,000 in funding for its bike share technology, as well as current undergrad Bradley Ericson, whose company 3 Second Receipts earned him the title of Entrepreneur magazine's College Entrepreneur of 2009.

Loschiavo says that the vast majority of Baiada's tenants are Drexel alums, and all have had some affiliation with Drexel. The center chooses two to three companies each year, negotiates a competitive one-year lease, and reviews the startup's performance at the end of the initial contract.

While residence is open ended, Loschiavo says companies must show movement in the right direction to remain in the center. One Baiada business, Drexel Drinks, is something of an incubator within an incubator. The on-campus beverage delivery service has become a model for succession, providing turnover and training as students graduate and move on.

Founder and primary funder Mel Baiada is a Drexel alum and serial entrepreneur who credits a successful exit in the software industry. He also founded Basecamp Business, a networking tool for entrepreneurs. "The Baiada Center established a culture of entrepreneurship at Drexel, and helps the university maintain an entrepreneurial focus," he says. Mel's brother, Mark, who founded Bayada Nurses, is also an investor in the incubator, which is named in honor of their father. The new LeBow building should be complete in 18 months.

Source: Mark Loschiavo, Mel Baiada, The Baiada Center
Writer: Sue Spolan